Bush-tail Porcupine (Atherurus africanus)

Scientific Name: Atherurus africanus
Common Name: African Brush-tailed Porcupine
Description: The head is roundish and rather domed, with a short
blunt muzzle and small eyes and ears. The legs are short and sturdy, and each
foot has five toes, all equipped with powerful claws.
The porcupine is easily recognized by its most notable feature-its quills,
the stiff, thick spines banded with black, brown, pale yellow or white. Covering
the back, sides and tail, they are mixed in with softer hairs. Quill length on
different parts of the body varies, from 2 cm up to 30 cm inches on the back.
Usually the quills lie flat against the body, but if danger threatens, the
porcupine raises and spreads them
Difference in Sex:Distribution: Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana, Zaire, Kenya,
Uganda, S Sudan
Average Weight of Adult male:Habitat: Porcupines are most common in hilly, rocky country, but they
can adapt to most habitats. Excessively moist forests and the most barren of
deserts seem to be the only exceptions
Habits: Natural shelters such as caves or crevices among roots and
rocks are modified by porcupines to suit their needs. They will inhabit holes
made by other animals but also dig their own.
Main feeding time: nocturnal, they are infrequently seen in the
daytime
Size:Gestation: 100-110 days
Number of young at birth: 1
Communication:Age: 23 years
Diet: Their diet consists primarily of bark, roots, leaves, bulbs,
fruits, and nodules
Enemies:Interesting facts:Credits: